Strong
by lilbluedancer
Summary: SEQUEL TO WEAK. Thea's not a weak little girl anymore. But when her first mission for Team Arrow goes horribly wrong, she'll find out how strong she really is.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own Arrow or its characters.**

**This is the sequel to my story Weak. If you haven't read it I suggest going to my author page and checking it out first, otherwise this might not make sense. For those of you who supported Weak and begged for more Thea/Roy-this is for you. I hope I did you justice. Like Weak, this gets pretty dark- it's rated M for a reason, guys. But you all know my stuff-there's always a happy ending :) Please, please let me know what you guys think and leave a review!**

Thea twirls in her dress outside the hotel. It's almost midnight and it's getting cold. Her dress has tiny little black straps and her arms are developing goose bumps.

"What do you think?" she asks Roy, swirling the skirt.

He gives her a lazy grin. "I'd fuck you."

She cups his cheek affectionately. "Just the response I was hoping for."

"Thea." His hands find her wrists and he pulls her to his chest. "You don't have to do this."

"I'll be fine," she reassures him.

He locks his jaw determinedly.

"Felicity does this all the time," she says. In fact, if Felicity wasn't in Las Vegas visiting her mother she would be here right now, and Thea would be at home watching reality television, waiting for her brother and boyfriend to come home from their mission.

"She's also been shot, and kidnapped _multiple times_," he reminds her.

"But I'm not doing anything dangerous," she argues.

Her chest had swelled with pride when her brother had come to her and asked for her help. There's no way she's not doing this.

She's strong now. She can do it.

"Go over it one more time for me," he coaxes.

Thea sighs. "I walk through the lobby and go to the hotel bar at exactly midnight. I give the bartender a twenty and tell him to give me water when I ask for vodka and to give Robins double what he orders. Robins comes into the bar every night at exactly twelve-oh-six. Why then, I have no idea, it seems totally random to me-"

"Thea."

"I get him drunk, show a little leg, whatever, I keep him distracted until you guys find the device in his room."

"And if he wants to leave before we find it?"

"Then I invite him into my room. And I use this." She waves a hand in the air, displaying a large ring that, when pushed against someone's skin, will inject a tranquilizer.

He kisses her eyelids, the tip of her nose. "Be careful, okay?"

She nods seriously. She knows he's afraid for her, doesn't think this is a good idea. She wants to prove him wrong, prove that she's not a weak little girl anymore.

Roy tucks her hair back behind her ear and inserts her com. There's a crackle and then she hears Diggle's voice in her ear, announcing, "Arsenal, head to the southeast exit."

Roy gives her a tight smile. "Gotta go." He slips his mask over his face.

"Wait." She pulls him back to her, kisses him deeply.

"I'll see you in an hour," he says softly, and then he's gone.

She stands by herself, swinging her arms to stay warm, until she hears Diggle's gentle voice say, "It's midnight, Thea."

"On it." She straightens her shoulders and enters the hotel.

xxx

The bartender takes her odd request and her crisp twenty graciously in stride, and when Robins walks in at exactly twelve-oh-six she's seated on a stool at the bar sipping a tonic water.

He's good looking, she supposes, a silver fox type. He doesn't look like the kind of person to have a bomb the size of a postage stamp that's capable of blowing up half of Starling City hidden in his hotel room.

Then again, when she met Slade Wilson he didn't seem like a murdering psychopath. She doesn't trust her gut anymore. Trusting no one is simpler.

Robins sits two stools down from her and orders a double scotch, neat. Ten minutes later he's sitting next to her, one hand on her knee. She smiles and flirts, plays the wide-eyed ingénue to perfection. By twelve-thirty he's drunk, telling her how pretty she is, asking her if she has a boyfriend.

"No," she lies, pouting her lips.

"Someone like you shouldn't be alone," he slurs, hand on her thigh. "Such a pretty little thing."

She hears Roy in her ear, making gagging noises.

Robins stands up from the bar, pulling her to her feet. "I think I'll enjoy you in my room."

She gives him a coy smile and swallows back the sour taste in her mouth. "I bet my room's closer."

She's leading him down the hallway to her room when she hears Roy's panicked voice through the com.

"...the fuck is this?" he's yelling, and then she hears Oliver scream, "It's a trap! Thea, get out of there!"

She stumbles in her heels and tries to turn only to find herself herself pushed up against the wall with a gun pressed into the small of her back.

"I'm sorry, love," Robins says, suddenly sounding suspiciously sober. "But we're not going to anyone's room."

xxx

Thea wakes up in a warehouse. At least, she thinks it's a warehouse. It's dark so all she really gets is the impression of space, a high ceiling. She's tied to a chair. She takes a deep breath and tries not to panic.

She stiffens when she hears the sound of boots, and slowly two figures resolve in front of her. Both men, with cheap black masks over their faces. A floodlight above her suddenly turns on and she recoils against the light, her eyes tearing up.

"Holy shit," one of the men says. "She's Thea Queen."

"Who?" the other man says.

Creepy man number one sighs in irritation. "She's like, a billionaire."

"Former billionaire," Thea corrects him tiredly.

"So what?" says creepy man number two. "Get to it."

Number One walks towards her and she tries to back up, only to make the chair wobble precariously.

He rights the chair, clucking his tongue. He uncurls her fingers, which are wrapped around the arms of the chair, and places in them a sheet of newspaper.

"What is this?" she says, her voice shaking.

"Proof of life."

Number Two unveils her clutch and pulls out her cell phone. "Smile for the camera, darling."

He takes a picture of her and hands the phone to Number One, who takes the newspaper out of her hands and replaces it with her phone.

"Send this to the Arrow," he instructs her.

She gapes at him. "_What_?"

"Do it," he orders.

Her wrists are tied to the chair and her thumb moves slowly across the screen. She looks terrible in the picture. Her skin is pale in the harsh light and her eyeliner is smeared. She doesn't send the photo to Oliver.

She sends it to Felicity.

Felicity, her almost sister. Felicity, the genius. The woman who is will be able to find out where Thea is from a shitty camera phone photo in eight minutes flat and tell Ollie where to find her.

As soon as her phone pings, indicating that the message successfully went through, Number One snatches her phone back and crushes it with the heel of his boot.

"Why are you doing this?" she cries.

He caresses her cheek with a gloved hand, supple leather brushing her skin. "Don't you worry, sweetheart. You're just the bait."

Number two approaches and she screams when she sees what he has in his hand.

"Don't be a baby," he admonishes. "Just a little sting."

The needle sinks into the crook of her elbow and by the time the plunger is completely pushed down she's already asleep.

xxx

Thea awakes to someone's hand pinching between her legs under her dress, and she cries out, not in arousal, but in pain.

"Stop," she moans, and tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids are just so _heavy_, and she can't.

"Please," she pleads, her voice breaking.

"Shh," the man says. "Such a pretty little Queen. Pretty young thing."

Fingers twist and she screams brokenly, tears sliding down her face. She digs her nails into the arms of the chair, wishing for a blade.

"What're you doing?" says a second voice.

"Nothing man, just playing around."

"She's not here for our amusement."

"She's a pawn. And _look_ at her."

"Please," Thea cries again. "Don't do this."

The second man pushes the first man away. "We're not supposed to hurt her."

Her eyes flutter open and she swallows painfully. A glass of water appears in front of her lips. "Drink. You're no use to us dead."

She gulps down the water, which disappears too quickly to appease her thirst.

"You're not supposed to be awake," the man says casually. "How do you feel about a little nap?"

"No," she moans, "don't."

"Shh," he whispers. "Go back to sleep."

There's a sharp sting in her arm and before she knows it she's asleep again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I don't own Arrow or its characters. Please Leave a review :)**

She wakes up to explosions. There's smoke everywhere, she can't see much of what's going on. There's a man in front of her brandishing a gun, but he can't possibly see more than a foot in front of him with all that smoke.

An arrow whizzes through the air, and the man in front of her goes down, the arrow sticking out of his thigh.

Thea looks up and through the blur of tears and smoke she sees the silhouette of her brother high up on the ledge of a wall, bow in hand.

"Ollie?" she croaks.

He jumps, and disappears. She cries out, "Wait!" but her voice is drowned out by police sirens.

Within minutes the warehouse is swarmed by cops and she's cut loose from the chair. Thea tries to stay awake, tries to explain, but whatever she was injected with earlier is strong, and she falls asleep in the arms of a policeman before he can even put her in a car.

xxx

Thea wakes up in the hospital. She sits up, gasping for air, her brain struggling to put the pieces together. Her memories are blurry, fragmented: Robins, the gun, the men in masks, the needle in her arm, all swirling around in her brain.

She feels dizzy and it aches between her legs.

"Shh, it's all right." There's a nurse next to her, easing her back down on the bed.

"What's happening?" she croaks.

"You're in the emergency room," the nurse says gently. "Everything's going to be okay."

"Where's my brother?" Thea asks. "Did you call him?"

"I did." Captain Lance steps into her room.

"Thank you," Thea says softly, shrinking back on the bed at the determined look in his eye.

But he only leans down to kiss her gently on the forehead and pat her hand. "You alright, sweetheart?"

She nods tightly, her throat full of tears.

"I'm going to need to ask you a few questions, Thea."

"Can't that wait? My sister was just kidnapped."

"Ollie!"

Oliver strolls through the door and pulls her into his arms, cradling the back of her head.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers brokenly. "I'm so sorry."

He turns to Lance and she watches the two men shake hands.

"Thank you," Oliver says, and she almost snorts at his false sincerity.

"My pleasure." Lance glances at Thea. "Bring her down to the station when she's ready, and we'll do a proper interview."

"Of course," her brother says. "Thank you. Really."

Lance nods, clapping Oliver on the shoulder, before leaving.

Oliver turns to the nurse. "Can I take my sister home?"

"We did some tests but everything has come back clean so far," she tells them. "I'll find her doctor; he has to sign off on discharging her but then she should be free to go."

"Thank you," Ollie says, giving her a full-blown Queen smile.

The nurse blushes as she exits the room, leaving Thea alone with Oliver.

"Why did you leave me there?" Thea blurts out angrily. "Why didn't you take me with you?"

"I couldn't," he says, looking down at the floor. "The cops were almost there. I'm sorry."

"Ollie," she says, trying to steady her voice. "How long was I gone?"

He looks at her and for the first time she sees how red his eyes are, how tired he looks. "Eighteen hours."

"Where's Roy?" she asks. "Why isn't he here?"

"He's tying up some loose ends for me. He'll meet us at home."

"Okay," she says, trying not to look disappointed.

"Thea," he says softly. "Are you okay?"

She nods, unable to look at him. "I'm fine, Ollie."

The lie tastes bitter in her mouth.

xxx

Ollie gives her clothes to change into that he picked up at the loft for her, worn skinny jeans and a cable knit ivory sweater that she stole out of Felicity's closet last month. She puts her dress in the trash. She never wants to see it again.

In the mirror her skin looks pale and creased. Her curls have gone limp. Suddenly her stomach rolls and she bends over the toilet, heaving bile.

"Thea?" Ollie bangs on the door. "The doctor just signed your discharge papers; let's go."

"One second!" she calls out. She holds her hair back with one hand and rises her mouth from the tap.

"Okay?" he asks when she comes out of the bathroom.

"Yeah," Thea swallows. "Let's go home."

"Hey." He wraps his arm around her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay? You're acting weird."

"Is there a normal way to act after being kidnapped?" she jokes weakly.

"Thea."

"I'm fine," she murmurs. "I'm just tired."

He frowns. "How long you were knocked out for?"

"Ollie, please, I just want to go home."

He rubs his lips, a sign that he's upset, but he just sighs. "Okay, Speedy. Let's go home."

xxx

Thea almost trips on Felicity's suitcase propped against the wall in the hallway when she walks into the loft.

"Whoa," she says as the walls start to spin, and she wobbles into Oliver.

"Hey, easy there," he murmurs, catching her at the waist. "Okay?"

"Just a little dizzy. You didn't tell me Felicity came home early."

"Are you kidding?" Felicity says, coming around a corner. "I got on the first flight out of Vegas."

Felicity wraps her arms around Thea and she chokes back a sob.

"Thank you," Thea whispers. "Thank you for finding me."

Felicity rubs her back. "You should thank Oliver, he did all the manual labor."

"Thea, why don't you sit down?" Ollie suggests edgily.

He's not even trying to pretend he isn't staring at her. She's sure he's cataloging everything she's doing, what she says and how she moves, trying to piece what happened to her.

Like she's a puzzle he has to complete.

"I'm fine," she murmurs, wandering into the kitchen. "Are you cooking something?"

"I made you mac and cheese," Felicity explains. "I thought you could use some comfort food."

Thea's stomach turns. "I'm not hungry."

Felicity ignores this and spoons pasta into a bowl. "You haven't eaten in almost twenty-four hours."

She hands the bowl to Thea and cups her cheek. "Please sit down before your brother has a coronary."

Thea turns back to Ollie, who looks ready to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder.

"Okay," she sighs, rolling her eyes.

She takes the bowl over to the couch, burrowing into a corner. Felicity sits down next to her, pulling Thea's feet into her lap. Oliver sits down on the coffee table in front of them.

"Thea, we need to talk about what happened," he says heavily.

His face is riddled with guilt; she can't even look at him. She can never tell him what happened at the warehouse. It would _crush_ him.

"I'm fine," she mutters. "Just drop it."

"_Thea_."

"Oliver," Felicity says softly. "Let her eat. She's exhausted. We can talk in the morning."

"Fine," Oliver says tightly, and moves to sit on Thea's other side on the couch.

Thea leans against Felicity's shoulder. "How was Vegas?"

The older girl laughs. "You were just kidnapped, and that's what you want to talk about?"

"Please," Thea says. "I could use a distraction."

"Only if you eat that," Felicity tells her.

Thea huffs in frustration but forces herself to take a bite, and opens her mouth to prove that she's swallowed when Ollie makes her.

"Seriously," she says, "even for you, this is excessive."

"Eat your damn food," he mutters. "Your blood sugar is probably in the toilet."

"Stop micromanaging me, I said I was fine," she snaps.

"I think my mom's new boyfriend is a pirate," Felicity blurts out, no doubt trying to diffuse the tension.

"What?" Thea giggles.

"His name is Captain," Felicity says.

"_No._"

"_Yes_. He has a skull and bones tattoo on his arm. And he calls everyone _matey_."

"Oh my _god_."

"And she wants to bring him to the wedding. Classy as hell, my mother."

The front door opens with a _bang_ and Thea jumps off the couch, the bowl clattering to the floor.

"Thea." Ollie's hand is heavy on her shoulder.

She's standing in fighting stance, feet planted, hands curled defensively into fists.

"It's just Roy," he reassures her.

A red hoodie blurs across the room and then Roy is holding her, his arms banded tightly across her torso. She shudders at the full body contact, squeezing her eyes shut so she doesn't cry.

He cups the back of her neck with one hand and rests his forehead against hers. "Don't ever scare me like that again," he says shakily.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, and then she does cry, hot tears streaming down her face.

"Shh," he soothes. "You're home. Everything's okay now."

_It's not_, she wants to cry. It's not okay. But she doesn't. She can't find the words.

He strokes her hair, wipes tears off her eyelashes with his thumbs.

"Did they hurt you?" he asks carefully. Like he's afraid to know the answer.

She thinks about Ollie, lying and lying to her in a misguided attempt to protect her, and thinks, _I understand._

"No," she lies. "They didn't hurt me." 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I don't own Arrow or its characters. Please Leave a review :)**

Everyone is exhausted, and before long Felicity and Oliver retreat to their bedroom, and Roy follows Thea to her room.

She feels gross, dirty and wrinkled. She wants to take a hot shower, scrub her skin until it's raw. She's still dizzy, the mac and cheese sitting heavily in her stomach.

"Bed?" Roy asks hopefully. He looks dead on his feet, he and Oliver were up all last night and today trying to find her.

"I need to shower," she says, her voice scratchy.

He nods tiredly but doesn't argue, letting her lead him to the bathroom. He runs the water for her, waiting for it to heat up, while she leans against the wall, watching him blur in and out of focus.

"Hey," he says, his face looming in close to hers. "Okay?"

"I feel weird," she admits.

He cups her face in his hands, taking in her pale skin and unfocused eyes. "You look like you're on something," he mutters.

"They injected me with something to keep me asleep," she explains. "But the doctor at the hospital said I was okay."

He frowns. "You don't look okay."

"Just help me shower, please," she says quietly, looking away.

"Okay. Lift your arms up," he says gently, and she stretches, fingertips towards the ceiling.

Warm fingers brush her stomach. She tries not to flinch as he pulls up the hem of her sweater, lifting it over her head.

"Thea," he says sharply, looking at her wrists.

They're red and raw from the rope, the skin chaffed.

"You said they didn't hurt you."

For a moment she contemplates telling him the truth. The pain of the needle plunging into her skin, waking up to someone's hand tearing her apart in a place where only Roy touches her.

How they defiled her. Made her weak.

And then she recalls something Felicity told her once. How, when rescuing her from the Count, Oliver shot arrows into him with no hesitation, even though he had promised no more killing. That he had said he didn't have a choice, not when she was going to get hurt.

Thea won't let her brother kill again, not for her.

If she tells Roy, he'll tell Oliver. There are no secrets in their little bromance, she knows that.

"They don't hurt," she says, but hisses when he kisses her wrists.

His hand goes down to the fly of her jeans and she startles, accidentally banging her head on the wall.

"Hey," Roy says softly. "It's okay."

"Sorry," she whispers.

"It's okay," he says again, pulling her jeans down over her hips and helping her step out of them.

Thea pulls her bra up over her head without bothering with the clasp. She peels her underwear down, shoves them in the little trash can next to the toilet when Roy turns around to check the water.

"It's ready," he tells her.

She steps towards the shower but stops when the floor starts to tilt, making her lean against the glass door.

"Maybe I should get in with you," he says worriedly, and she nods.

He strips quickly, opening the shower door and helping her in. The water is hot and she moans when it hits her skin. Thea feels so _strange_, dizzy and almost like she's not really here, like she's just dreaming it. She presses down on her skinned wrist, the pain helping her focus.

"Don't do that." Roy pulls her hand away.

He pumps liquid soap into his hands and washes her carefully, his hands rubbing down her skin in gentle smooth strokes.

"Again," she says shakily, when he's washed her whole body and she still feels filthy.

"Thea..."

"I still feel dirty," she says, choking on a sob.

"Hey." He holds her carefully, his skin hot and wet against her chest. "You're okay. You're clean."

"I don't feel clean," she says and then she's crying again, harsh sobs coming up from the back of her throat.

"Alright," he murmurs. "Come on, it's okay."

"I'm sorry," she cries, one hand braces on the wall for balance. "You were right. I should've told him no. I wasn't ready."

"It's gonna be okay," he says. "You're okay."

She shakes her head, tears scattering.

"Thea." He combs wet tendrils of hair off her face, tilts her head back so water doesn't get in her eyes. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

Like he knows she's lying.

"I was scared," she says, offering a half-truth. "They scared me."

He kisses her, so tender it makes her want to scream. "I'm here," he says. "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

xxx

Thea doesn't sleep much that night.

She's too out of it to relax, her body coiled and tense. She drifts in and out of consciousness, one minute in her room, the next back in the warehouse.  
Every time she starts to drift off she hears some little noise and jerks awake.

She curls around Roy (out cold, the moment his head hit the pillow), tucking her knees in the bend of his legs, and tries to hold on to his solid heat.

She tries to remember good things, things that make her strong.

The warmth of her brother's hand on her shoulder.

Felicity trying on her wedding dress for the first time. Thea had cried, because it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

She kisses Roy's sleeping face, his strong jaw and feathery eyelashes.

She thinks about waking him up, just to make him talk to her, but decides against it. He's exhausted, and there's nothing he can do, anyway.

You can't change the past.

Maybe it's karma, she thinks. Some universal payment for the things she's done. A balancing of the scales.

If she was brave enough to tell Ollie she would ask him about it. That's what he's been doing this whole time, hasn't he? Atoning for his sins on the island, finding a way to be more than a killer.

Death would be kinder than this, she thinks, this very specific kind of torture. She shudders, pressing her forehead against the flat space of Roy's back, nestling between his sleeping shoulder blades.

She is thinking bad thoughts, she knows. She can't help it, it's like something in her brain has unwound. Like a loose thread that has unraveled all the progress she's made in the last six months.  
_  
Bad, bad girl, who got what she deserved_. The voice in her head warps, turns into the voices of the men in masks. _Pretty little thing.  
_  
She shivers against Roy's heat all night long.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** **I don't own Arrow or its characters. Please Leave a review :)**

Eventually, when sunlight starts peeking through her curtains and the clock assures her that it's morning, Thea slides out of bed and goes down to the kitchen. She starts a pot of coffee and sits on a stool with her head in her hands, wiping away slow, quiet tears.

She's just tired. She just needs some coffee.

Great. Not only is she lying to everyone else, now she's lying to herself.

The coffeemaker beeps, jolting her out of her pity spiral. She goes to the cabinet and pulls out the biggest mug she can find, and turns to the fridge to get creamer.

Her mother walks into the room.

The mug slips from her hands, shattering into pieces, but Thea doesn't notice, because her mother is standing right in front of her.

"Mom?" she whispers.

Her mother gives her a gentle, graceful smile and Thea crumples, landing on her knees in the grass.

It's dark and her hands are tied behind her back and she's kneeling on the grass.

_No_. This isn't happening. _Not again_.

"I love you, Thea," her mother says, right in front of her, close enough to touch.

She can hear Ollie's voice in her head, crying, "Mom, what are you doing? _Mom_!"

And then Slade Wilson appears and pierces a sword through her mother's chest.

A scream tears from her throat and Thea keels over, cracking her head on the hardwood.

It's dark and she cries for her mother until strong arms pull her up.

"Thea?"

It's Ollie.

"Thea, you're bleeding."

"Ollie, I saw Mom."

His face goes white. "What?"

"She was just here," she blubbers, "I saw her."

"Thea, Mom's dead."

"She was just here." She holds her arms out. "She was _just here_."

Oliver grasps her face. "What'd you take, Thea?"

"Nothing," Thea cries. "She was real, I saw her!"

"Thea, you're hallucinating! It's not real."

"You don't understand," she exclaims. "I saw her, she was just here, she was right-"

Ollie's face shifts-

She blinks and he's gone and she blinks again-

Slade Wilson stands in front of her, wielding a blood soaked sword.

"_No_!"

She drops to her knees, rolling away from him, and he grasps her by the ankles, pulling her back. She shrieks, kicking wildly at him.

"Thea," he growls, "stop."

She blinks, because he doesn't sound like Slade, he sounds like-

"Oliver, what's happening?" Felicity's voice floats down from the top of the stairs. She sounds frightened.

"Get Roy!" Oliver shouts.

She blinks in surprise, because Ollie is suddenly _Ollie_ again.

"Thea," he whispers, holding his hands out to her like she's a wounded animal. "Thea, it's okay. It's me."

"Oh, god." What the fuck is happening? "Ollie, I don't know what's happening to me!"

"Thea, listen to me. Whatever you're seeing, it's not real, okay?"

His face blurs, Ollie-Slade-Ollie-Slade, until she screams, slamming her eyes shut.

"Thea!" Ollie's yelling at her, and she screams louder, tries to block everything out.

"Thea, fight it!" he yells. "Come on Thea, _fight_!"

"I can't," she sobs, pulling on her hair.

"Yes you can. You're strong. Come on, Thea."

"Make it stop!" she screams. "_Make it stop_!"

"Thea!" It's Roy. She turns to look for him coming down the stairs but there are men in masks everywhere.

"No," she sobs, crumpling on the floor. "No."

"What's wrong with her?" Roy shouts.

"Hold her down," Ollie instructs.

Thea flails, trying to get away from the men in masks, but their arms comes around her, holding her tight.

"Thea, stop, it's me."

She hears Roy's voice in her ear but she's so afraid.

She can't stop screaming.

"What the hell's happening to her?"

"I don't know," Oliver says. "She's hallucinating."

"_What_?"

"Robins' men drugged her. The hospital must have missed something."

Thea risks opening her eyes. A man in a black mask stares down at her and she shrieks, jerking in someone's arms, her feet flailing wildly.

"Shh, Thea, it's okay," she hears Roy say, but it's like he's talking through a fan, his voice choppy and far away.

"Calm her down," Ollie says. "She's getting blood everywhere."

"Thea," Roy shouts, so she can hear him over the sounds of her own screaming. "Listen to me. I know you're scared. Just listen to me. Focus on my voice."

She weeps in his arms, feeling something cold and wet on her face.

"You're okay," Ollie murmurs. "You cut your forehead. Just gonna clean you up."

"I'm sorry," she cries, in an unexpected wave of lucidity. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It's not your fault," Roy says.

"Roy," she gasps. She tries to say, _Roy, I'm scared_, but it's like when she's having a nightmare and she tries to scream but nothing comes out.

"You're okay," he says. "I've got you."

She tries opening her eyes again and stifles a shriek, closing them almost immediately.

"Maybe keep them closed," her brother suggests gently.

"Ollie," she sobs. "What's happening?"

"Hey," she hears Roy say, "her heart is beating really fast."

"Don't worry, Thea," Ollie says. "We'll figure it out. Roy, hold her there, I'm getting her a sedative."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"We gave one to Laurel when she was dosed with Vertigo."

"You think this is Vertigo?"

"What else could it be?"

Everything fades, she blacks out or something, because the next thing Thea knows someone is trying to pry open her mouth.

"Open up, Thea," Ollie's saying.

A pill gets placed on her tongue and she swallows reflexively. She hears Oliver exhale sharply in relief.

He tells Roy to pick her up and then she's being lifted, carried out of the room and onto the couch. She keeps her eyes squeezed shut, clenching her jaw so tight her teeth start to chatter.

She can hear fingers clacking over a keyboard and Oliver asks someone, "What are you doing?"

"Acceding her medical file from last night," Felicity answers. "I'm hoping that...yes! They took a blood sample."

"So?" Roy says. "How does that help?"

"_Because_...ha! I just told them to send the sample to Star Labs. It should only take a couple of hours for Caitlyn to analyze it."

"Thea?" It's Ollie's voice, soft and warm in her ear. "How are we doing?"

She turns her face, burrowing into a solid chest. "I don't feel good."

" I know. I need you to open your eyes for a second, okay?"

"No," she whines.

"Just for a second," he wheedles. "If you see something scary you can shut them."

She complies, _slowly, slowly_, peeking out through her lashes.

Ollie's face blurs in front of her but it's _him_, even if he won't focus.

"What do you see?"

"You're all blurry."

"Anything else?"

She shakes her head, letting it fall back on someone's (Roy's?) chest.

"Roy," she mumbles.

"I'm here," he says, threading his fingers through hers.

"I'm so tired." She feels drained, even worse than last night, like she could sleep for a week.

"Can she sleep?" Roy asks. "She's not going to like, go unconscious, is she?"

"Maybe we should take her to the foundry," Ollie says. "We can monitor her there."

"No," she moans softly. "I can't sleep on that stupid table."

"Thea, do you have any other symptoms?"

"I just want to sleep, Ollie. Please."

"Okay," he says uncertainly.

She leans back against Roy and squeezes his fingers. "Don't let go."

He kisses the top of her head. "Never."

xxx

She wakes up a few hours later, wedged between the back of the couch and Roy, fast asleep with an arm thrown across his face. Felicity is on the floor with a tablet in her lap, and Ollie is sleeping on one of the leather couches across from her.

"Apparently sleep deprivation is a major side effect of vigilantism," Felicity comments. She tilts her head back against the couch to look at Thea. "How're you feeling?"

"Tired." She rubs her eyes. "Thirsty."

"No hallucinations?"

She shakes her head, crawling over Roy's body and slides down next to Felicity, who pats her shoulder gently and tells her not to move. She disappears around the back of the couch and comes back with a glass of water.

"Thanks," Thea murmurs, accepting the glass and sipping, cool water parching her dry throat.

"Thea," Felicity says softly. "Are you okay?"

"I really don't know how to answer that question," she says, leaning her head against the back of the couch.

Felicity gives her a sad smile and squeezes her hand. "We're all here for you. You know that, right?"

Thea nods, afraid if she says something she'll start crying again.

Felicity's tablet beeps, some kind of alert going off, and Oliver jolts awake.

"It's Caitlyn," Felicity says, going over to her laptop. "The analysis is done."

"Well?" Oliver says impatiently.

"Hold on..." Felicity's fingers fly over the keys. "You were right. She was dosed with Vertigo."

"I don't understand." Oliver pushes the heels of his palms against his eyes. "Vertigo hits immediately. Why did it take so long to come on?"

"It's slow acting. It mimics a tranquilizer at first; it takes at least twenty-four hours to come on fully, which would explain why the hospital cleared her. They thought she was just knocked out. As for the hallucinations it seems like...oh. Well, that explains it."

"What?"

"It targets traumatic memories."

Ollie turns towards Thea. "You saw Slade, didn't you?"

"Yeah," she whispers, the memory making her shiver.

"The good news is it should be out of her system by now. Once the hallucinations stop the only side effect is fatigue. She should be feeling okay by tomorrow."

"Thank god," Ollie sighs.

They all jump when there's a loud knock on the front door.

"How is he still sleeping?" Ollie mutters, casting a glance at Roy.

"You grow up in the Glades, you learn to sleep through anything," Roy replies without opening his eyes.

There's a second knock and Ollie sighs, scrubbing his face with his hands. "I'll get it."

He disappears around the corner, and a second later she hears him say loudly, "What do you want?"

The second voice is cold and arrogant and makes Thea's stomach cramp.

"I'm here to see my daughter."

_Malcolm_. 


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **I don't own Arrow or its characters. Please leave a review :)**

Ollie comes back into the living room with his jaw clenched. "Malcolm wants to see you."

Thea sighs and gets up from the floor.

"Thea," Ollie says, "you don't have to talk to him."

"If I don't he's going to keep coming back."

She threads her fingers through her brother's and follows him to the door.

"What do you want?" she says sharply.

"Really, Thea?" Malcolm says, observing the way she stands just behind Ollie, his hand curled protectively around his. "You need a bodyguard to talk to your father?"

"You're not my father," she spits. "You're just my sperm donor."

"Thea," Ollie says softly.

"I don't want to talk to him," she says angrily. "Why is he even here?"

"Well you see Thea, you are my flesh and blood. I had a certain concern when you were kidnapped."

Thea glares at Oliver. "You called him?"

"He's your father," he mutters. "He deserved to know."

"Imagine my surprise when I found out what happened to you was because you were doing work for the Arrow." He gives Oliver a withering look. "You're supposed to protect her."

Oliver's hand clenches around hers. "I am protecting her."

Malcolm snorts. "You dangled her like a kitten in front of a terrorist."

"I'm not some dumb animal!" Thea protests. "I've had training. _You_ trained me! I'm not a weak little girl that you can manipulate anymore."

"You got caught. I trained you better than that."

Thea shrinks under her father's gaze. He's right.

It's her own fault she got captured. She's _weak_.

"I think that's enough," Ollie says firmly. "You should leave."

Malcolm nods and gives Thea a look that makes her squirm. "I'm glad you're not dead."

She scowls. "Wish I could say the same."

xxx

She spends the rest of the day on the couch with Roy, watching bad reality television. Felicity and Oliver disappear to their room after Malcolm leaves, mumbling something about last minute wedding plans. She doesn't get suspicious until Oliver comes back down a few hours later and asks to speak to Roy.

"Dude, I'm hanging out with my girlfriend," Roy says, nuzzling Thea's neck.

"It's about your suit," Ollie says tightly.

"Huh?"

"For the wedding. I need to talk to you about your suit."

"Okay..."

"In my room," Oliver says. "I need to talk to you about your suit in my room."

"Oh my god, Ollie, just say its Arrow stuff. It's not like your excuses are getting more believable." Thea rolls her eyes.

"Fine. Roy, we're having an emergency meeting in my room."

"See?" Thea says brightly. "That wasn't so hard."

"I can see you're feeling better," Oliver says dryly. "Roy, come on."

Roy rolls off the couch and follows Ollie up the stairs, grumbling the whole way.

Thea figures out something's going down when the three of them come down the stairs an hour later. The guys are in regular clothes but the dead giveaway is Felicity, dressed in tight black jeans and a black leather jacket zipped all the way up.

"You're going out?" Thea asks in disbelief. "Tonight?"

"We don't have a choice," Oliver explains. "That Vertigo is out there. We have to destroy it before hits street level dealers."

"You're leaving me here alone?" she asks in a small voice.

"Of course not," Ollie says.

There's a knock on the door and he nods, heading to open the door. "That's her."

"Who?" Thea yells.

Ollie comes back to the living room with Laurel Lance, carrying a briefcase in one hand and a pizza box in the other. Thea wilts, wishing she could disappear into the couch.

"Hi, Thea!" Laurel says brightly, like she's not talking to the person who _murdered her sister_. "I brought pizza."

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Thea asks Ollie, ignoring Laurel altogether.

"I'll go get some plates for us," Laurel says calmly, patting Ollie's shoulder before wandering into the kitchen.

"What is she doing here?" Thea hisses.

"What?" he asks mildly. "She used to babysit you all the time."

"Yeah, when I was _five_."

"I can't leave you home alone, you're coming down from a very high dose of Vertigo. I need someone to watch you. She's the only one I trust."

"Why can't Felicity stay with me?" she whines.

"Because I need her to run tech for me."

"This sucks, Ollie."

"Thea." He perches on the edge of the couch and lays one of his hands over hers. "I know you feel weird being around Laurel but it's going to be fine. Laurel loves you. She's not going to torture you while we're gone."

"Being alone with her _is_ torture."

"She's not angry at you, Speedy, you know that."

"Ollie..."

"Laurel's family," he says sternly. "You're going to have to figure out a way to feel comfortable around her."

"How do you feel comfortable around someone whose sibling you _killed_?"

Ollie sighs heavily. "I know this is still hard for you but I need you to try, okay? Just for tonight."

She pouts and gives him puppy dog eyes. "Don't leave me."

"Stop." He leans down and kisses her forehead. "You'll be fine. You don't even have to talk to her."

Laurel comes back, setting two plates on the table.

"Don't worry," she says knowingly, holding up her briefcase. "I brought work."

xxx

Laurel is the one to break first.

"Are you really not going to talk to me?" she asks, after they've finished the pizza and watched three reruns of _Darlings of Starling City_, a reality show that follows four local young socialites do thing like brunch, and get drunk and fight, and then re-hash the fight at brunch the next morning.

Thea bites her lip and looks determinedly down at her hands. Her wrists are still red. "They go to Verdant in the next episode. Great press, right?"

Laurel bites her lip and gives her a smile that could be construed as condescending but is probably more like amusement.

"Sure, Thea."

Thea sighs, picking at her nails.

"Hey," Laurel says. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Sure," Thea says hollowly.

"Thea," Laurel says gently. "Sara wouldn't want to you to feel guilty."

"You don't know that."

Laurel's hand finds Thea's and she squeezes it. "Yes I do. She loved Ollie and she loved you. Sara..."

Laurel trails off and clears her throat. "Sara lived a dangerous life. She knew that. She accepted that she could die."

"That doesn't make it okay."

"No." Laurel shakes her head. "It's not okay. It was inevitable."

"That's terrible," Thea whispers.

Laurel sighs. "It was her choice. I'm sorry that you were...involved."

Goddamn Laurel Lance, graceful in every situation.

"Please," Thea says, "please don't apologize to me."

"I don't blame you," Laurel says. "What Malcolm did to you...I'm angry that Sara's dead, but I'm angry for you too. It's not fair. But it's not your fault, okay? You didn't know what you were doing."

Thea swallows. "You got dosed with Vertigo one time, right? Right after Ollie told me he was the Arrow?"

"Yeah." Laurel shudders. "That was rough."

"What did you see?"

Laurel's face twists. "I saw Sara. I thought she was angry with me. It was horrible."

Thea nods, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

Laurel looks sideways at her. "What did you see?"

Thea blinks and presses her thumb into her wrist, the sharp stab of pain making her focus.

"I saw my mother."

xxx

She wakes up to being carried up the stairs by Ollie.

"How'd it go?" she mumbles, pressing her face into his chest.

"Everything's fine," he whispers. "Go back to sleep."

"Is Roy okay?"

"Everyone's fine, Thea."

"I was worried."

She gets lowered into her bed and feels the covers get pulled around her shoulders.

"Goodnight, Thea."

"G'night Ollie."

Soft lips brush her forehead. "I love you."

She opens her eyes long enough to give him a sleepy smile. "Love you, too."

xxx

It takes three days for Thea to escape the loft.

Oliver and Felicity stay home with her during the day, and Roy comes over every night. They treat her like she's come home from war, like a fragile damaged girl who could break at any moment.

Thea feels like she's suffocating.

The hardest part about keeping a secret is being surrounded by the very people you're trying to keep the secret from. They've all asked her to talk about what happened at the warehouse, and every time she makes an excuse to leave the room.

Thea makes it clear she doesn't want to take about it.

She doesn't cry. She doesn't shake. She doesn't have nightmares.

She's strong. She doesn't break.

What she does is tiptoe out of her room Wednesday night after Roy falls asleep, slip her car keys into her palm, and drive to the foundry.

The pills in the glass case are now safe behind an electronic lock. Thea stands on the counter, palm of her hand over the glass. She has no way to get into the case, unless she breaks the glass. Which would no doubt set off some kind of alarm that would have Ollie running down here in a minute flat.

She sighs and sits down on the ledge of the counter, pulling her knees to her chest. She curls her body up as tight as she can, like if she can get small enough there won't be any room for all the pain.

She's not all that surprised when Ollie shows up anyway.

He strolls in with his hands in his jacket pockets, sees her perched on the counter, and nods his head.

"How'd you know I was here?" Thea asks, picking at a hole in her jeans.

Oliver swings up to sit on the edge of the med table across from her. "Felicity hacked your phone."

"Of course she did."

He shrugs. "You didn't give us a choice."

"I just needed some space."

"Then leave a note," he says tightly.

"Sorry," she mutters.

"What are you doing here?"

"I didn't know where else to go."

Oliver looks up above her head at the cabinet.

"I didn't take any," she says.

Oliver exhales and nods, like he doesn't really believe her.

"Ollie, I didn't," she says again.

"I killed a drug dealer once," he says casually.

Thea stares. "What are you talking about?"

"It was while I was gone. When you were younger."

She frowns. "You met a drug dealer on the island?"

Ollie looks down. "I wasn't always on the island."

Lies, lies, always more _lies_. She's so used to it by now it almost doesn't hurt.

"So where did you go?"

Ollie flinches just a little. "It doesn't matter."

"Ollie, why are you telling me this?"

"This dealer," he says. "I saw him sell drugs to a girl at a party. This girl...she was beautiful, and young. But she was so _sad_, and you could see it, in her eyes. _He_ could see it."

"Ollie."

"I found him. I told him to stop. He saw my face." Oliver's face twists. "He threatened me."

"What do you mean?"

"I had to kill him," her brother whispers brokenly. "I snapped his spine and threw him over the balcony."

Her brain spins. She knows this. She's _seen_ this.

"That was Tommy's birthday party," she says shakily. "I wasn't supposed to go, but I went anyway. I bought pills from a dealer. He fell over the balcony. I thought it was an accident."

She feels nauseous. "That was _you_?"

He blinks rapidly, nodding his head.

"You were here? In Starling City?"

Her brother inhales. "Yes."

"You saw me that night?" she whispers in disbelief. "Ollie, I don't understand."

"I couldn't talk to you. No one was supposed to see me. I thought that once I was back I could figure out a way to stay, and I could tell you I was alive. But... I couldn't."

"Why not?"

He twitches. "It's complicated."

"I can't believe this," she breathes. "Tommy said something to me earlier that day. He caught me trying to buy pills, he was mad at me. He said that he was glad you were dead, because seeing me like that would break your heart."

"Thea," Ollie says softly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asks, her voice cracking. "Why haven't you told me about what happened while you were gone?"

Ollie shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know this sounds stupid but...I guess I thought you wouldn't love me anymore. I was afraid you wouldn't look at me the same way."

"That's not stupid," she whispers.

Ollie hops off the table and walks towards her, resting his hands on the counter next to her feet.

"You know I love you no matter what, right?" he says, kissing the top of her head. "I would do anything for you."

She hears the subtext loud and clear. _I will kill for you. Die for you_.

She pitches foreword and rests her cheek on his shoulder. He's warm and solid under her skin and she breathes in, pretending she's just a kid again and he's just Ollie.

"I'm so tired, Ollie," she whispers.

He pulls her head up and cradles her face. "I know you are. You have to fight, Thea. Okay? You can't stop fighting."

"I'm so tired of fighting," she says, blinking back tears. "Don't you ever get tired?"

"Come on," Ollie says. "I'll take you home. We can stop and get ice cream."

"Can I get sprinkles?"

Her brother gives her a teary smile. "You're my sister. You can get anything you want." 


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Just a heads up guys, this chapter has some serious feels. You've been warned. Please review :)**

She convinces Roy to let her have some wine that night. They sneak one of Felicity's red's up to Thea's bedroom and Roy puts on Pandora, hooking her phone up to the speakers.

She stretches out on her bed with him while they drink, taking comfort in the way he rubs her shoulder.

The wine does its work. Her mind goes blissfully blank and she starts to relax under his hand.

"You're tense," he comments, digging his thumb into the side of her shoulder. "You need to loosen up."

Roy takes her glass and pulls her down on her stomach. He pushes the hem of her shirt up and starts at the small of her back, working the muscles with his hands until they soften under him.

Thea sighs into the bedspread, letting her eyes fall shut. How could she forget this, the blissful mind-numbing effect of his hands on her skin? The way he makes it all go away.

He works up her back until his hand is wrapped around her neck, loosening knots she didn't know she had. Thea flips over onto her back, pulling her top over her head.

"Other side now," she says cheekily, watching his gaze darken as he stares at her chest.

"Yeah?" Roy asks, kind of breathless, fingers finding her waist.

She nods. "Definitely."

She needs this, needs him. This week has been so _crazy_. Robins, Vertigo, Ollie never letting her out of his sight. She needs time with Roy, time to remember who she is. When she's with him she doesn't feel the burden of being Thea Queen, daughter of Malcolm Merlyn.

She doesn't feel the bad things anymore. She doesn't feel what _they _did to her.

Roy makes her strong.

His hands graze her stomach and she inhales sharply, the muscles jumping under his touch.

"Relax," he murmurs, leaning down for a kiss.

She sighs into his mouth as he cups her right breast through purple lace. His thumb finds her nipple and she moans softly as heat spreads through her body.

"Feel good?" he says teasingly, switching sides.

"Mmm." Thea stretches languidly beneath him as his hand reaches down to knead her thigh, slides up to cup her hip.

He looks at her questioningly as his fingers play with the edge of her thong and she nods, giving him permission. His hand slips underneath the fabric and she bites back a moan at the delicious feel of him cupping her in his hand.

Roy teases her apart slowly, making her shiver. His index finger finds her clit and he rubs, making her moan, feet flat on the bed. He kisses her neck, her throat, her collarbone, pressing circles onto her until she's breathless, arching under him.

"More?" Roy questions.

She nods, letting her knees fall open. He slides a finger into her and her breath catches in her chest.

"Okay?" Roy asks, and she loves him for it, the way he knows her body better than she does.

Thea reaches up and clutches his arm, trying to breathe through the tight feeling in her chest.

"Thea?"

"Yeah," she whispers, and rocks her hips. "I'm okay."

She keeps her eyes wide open so she can look at him, so she doesn't forget where she is, who's touching her.

He waits for her to relax, until he hears that whine for more in the back of her throat, and adds a second finger. She breathes hard and his fingers twist-

It goes black.

She's gone, she can't see, can't move, can't do anything but feel a stranger's hand pulling her apart-

Someone says her name over and over. _Thea, Thea, Thea_.

She knows that voice, she _knows _it and she gasps, her eyes flying open. _Roy_.

"What happened?" She's sitting up, her face cupped in his hands.

She doesn't remember this. She doesn't remember how she got here.

"Oh thank god," Roy heaves, collapsing over her so she's cradled against his chest.

"Roy, what happened?" Her voice comes out shaky. She feels sick, like something really bad happened.

"I don't know. You were fine, and then you just went catatonic. For a second I thought you were _dead_."

Thea reaches for her top with shaking fingers. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

"Thea." Roy's hand clamps down on her arm. "You have to tell me what happened that night."

"Nothing happened," she says automatically, shifting out of his arms to pull her top on.

"You're lying to me," he says, the hurt in his voice evident.

"I don't want to talk about this," she snaps. "Why do you keep asking me?"

"Because something's obviously wrong with you," he says hotly. "Look at you. You won't even let me touch you."

"I'm sorry," she says again, dangerously close to tears.

"I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to be honest with me. I thought we weren't keeping secrets from each other anymore!"

"Look, I can't, okay?"

He backs up, his face suddenly going pale. "Why not?"

Thea swallows, feeling nauseous. "I just can't."

"Thea," he says softly, taking her hand. "I love you. You can tell me anything. Please."

"I can't," she cries. "I'm sorry. I want to but I can't."

"Thea," he whispers. "Thea did they...were you ra-"

"No," she says fiercely, gripping his shoulders. "_No_."

His eyes slam close. "Did they touch you?"

"Roy-"

"_Thea_. Did. They. Touch you."

She looks away but she can't stop the tears from falling. She doesn't even have to say yes.

"No," Roy says hoarsely, jumping off the bed. "_No_."

"Roy-"

"Fuck," he gasps. He picks up an empty wine glass and hurls it against the wall, where it shatters into pieces.

"_Roy_," she shrieks.

"I asked you," he yells. "I asked you if you were hurt and you said no!"

"Roy, please; stop."

"Oh my god." He paces back and forth in front of her bed. "I knew there was something off about the mission. I knew it. I should have stopped you, why didn't I stop you?"

"It wasn't your fault. I should have listened to you, I should have told Ollie no. I thought... I thought was stronger but I wasn't. It was my fault."

"Don't." Roy holds a hand up. "Don't ever say that."

Thea sniffs, wiping her eyes as Roy wears a hole in her floor, a blank look in his eye.

"Roy," she says brokenly. "Please don't be mad."

Roy shakes his head. "Don't ask that of me right now."

"Roy-"

"How could you not tell me?" he asks heatedly.

"I'm sorry," she whimpers.

"You lied to me!"

"I know, I'm sorry." Thea starts to cry again, holding her forehead against the palm of her hand.

"Thea, I'm your boyfriend. If you get hurt you're supposed to tell me. I'm supposed to take care of you."

"I know," she cries, "I'm so sorry."

"Thea, are you okay?" They both jump when Ollie comes in without knocking. "I thought I heard something break..."

He trails off, taking in Thea, sobbing on the bed, knees to her chest, and Roy, fuming in front of her.

"What's wrong?" he asks sharply. "Why are you crying?"

Thea shakes her head, covering her face as she sobs.

"Oh my god," Roy says faintly. "He doesn't know, does he?"

"Know what?" Ollie asks.

"Roy, stop," Thea begs. "Please."

"You are _unbelievable_," he shouts. "You're protecting him, aren't you? You don't want him to know because you know what he'd do!"

"Stop," she screams. "Stop it!"

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Ollie yells.

"She's a liar," Roy says angrily. "She's been lying to us all week!"

Oliver frowns. "Thea, what is he talking about?"

"Nothing!"

"Thea," Roy yells. "You have to tell him!"

"No," she yells back. "This is none of your businesses-"

"None of my business? Thea, I'm your _boyfriend_. He's your _brother_. We _love_ you."

"Stop," she begs. "Please. I'm okay."

"You're not okay!" he argues. "Are you that big of a martyr that you can't even see that?"

"Please," she whispers brokenly. "I can't do this."

"Thea." He drops to his knees in front of her. "If you don't tell him, I will."

"Don't you _dare_." She shoves him, hard, and Ollie jumps in between them even as she claws at him to let her go.

"Why is everyone yelling?" Felicity comes into the room and stops short when she sees Thea and Roy being pushed apart by Oliver.

"Can you please get Thea out of here?" Oliver asks her.

"No!" Thea shrieks. "_Please_."

"I have to tell him," he chokes out, his eyes glassy. "I'm sorry, I have to."

Thea lunges for him and gets caught by Ollie, who pushes her into Felicity's arms.

"Don't," she pleads, fighting to get out of Felicity's grasp. "Roy, please don't."

"They hurt you!" he cries, pulling at his hair. "Oh god, Thea, I have to tell him."

"No!" she screams. "You can't, you know what he'll do! You know what will happen."

"Roy," Oliver yells, snapping his fingers to get his attention. "Roy, talk to me."

Thea wails. "Please don't, I don't want him to know, _please_."

Roy gasps, panicked, his hands clenching into fists.

"Roy," Oliver says warningly.

"I have to hit something," Roy says frantically.

"Roy, listen to me," Ollie says. "Just calm down-"

"I can't," Roy screams. He's shaking, his whole body vibrating in rage. "I have to get it out, I have to hit something!"

"Stay with me, Roy," Oliver says, one hand reaching out to him. "It's the anger talking, this isn't you."

Roy shakes his head, his eyes glazing over.

Thea know that face. It's the face he makes right before he hits something.

"You don't understand," Roy yells. "You don't know what they did to her!"

"Okay," Ollie says. "It's okay." He plants his feet in front of Roy. "Hit me."

"_Oliver_," Felicity says sharply, and he shoot her a look that clearly says _I've got this_.

"Come on, then," Oliver says calmly. "Hit me."

Roy chokes on a sob and swings wildly. Even Thea can see it's a bad punch, all feeling and no technique. Her brother dodges it easily, catching Roy's wrist and spinning so he has Roy pinned in a hug.

Roy crumples into Ollie, sobbing.

"It's okay," Ollie says gently, holding Roy up against him as he cries, hand firm on his shoulder. "It's okay, let it out."

"Come on," Felicity whispers to her. "Let's give the boys some space."

xxx

Felicity takes Thea to her and Oliver's room. Thea collapses in their bed and Felicity guides her head to her lap, strokes her hair.

"Shh," she says. "It's going to be okay."

"He's so mad," Thea cries. "He's so mad at me."

"He's not mad at you. He's just mad."

"It's all my fault."

"Hey." Felicity pulls her up and cups her cheek. "None of this is your fault."

Thea crumples. This is Sara all over again. All her fault. All her _fucking fault_.

"Ollie's gonna freak out, "Thea sobs.

Felicity sighs. "I'll handle Oliver, okay? Don't worry about him."

"What am I going to do?" she wails.

"Just breathe," Felicity says calmly, rubbing her back. "We'll get through it."

"Oh god," Thea says. "You're getting married in three days and you're dealing with this. I'm so sorry, Felicity."

"Hey, it wouldn't be us without some last minute drama, right?" Felicity jokes weakly.

Thea just cries harder.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Felicity strokes her hair.

"I'm sorry," she cries. Sorry she couldn't tell the truth, sorry her actions have caused a bomb to go off. "I thought...I thought...it would be better this way."

"Thea..." Felicity sighs, biting her lip. "I know that after Sara, you may have... developed this idea that you're a bad person. Like maybe you deserve to be in pain. And that's just not true."

Thea covers her face, crying into her hands.

"Look at me, Thea."

Felicity peels Thea's hands off her face, forcing her to look at the older girl, a serious look on her face.

"If you are in pain, and you don't say anything, then we don't know that you're hurting. And if we don't know, we can't help you. Does that make sense?"

Thea nods stiffly. "Yeah."

"You have a voice," Felicity says gently. "You have to use it."

xxx

By the time Ollie comes into the room Thea thinks she has no tears left to cry, but when she sees the look on his face she starts to bawl.

He looks _devastated_.

Her brother kneels at the foot of the bed, his eyes watery and red.

"Thea," he whispers, and opens his arms. "Come here."

She falls into her brother and he catches her.

He'll always catch her.

"I'm so sorry," Ollie whispers, rocking her in his arms. "It's all my fault, I'm so sorry."

"No," she cries, burying her face in his shirt. "I thought I was stronger, it was my fault."

"No," he argues. "I should never have sent you out there. What happens to you in the field is my responsibility."

"Oh for the love of God," Felicity mutters. "It's no one's fault!"

"Where's Roy?" Thea asks Ollie.

"He's taking a walk. He needed to cool down."

She sniffs, trying to slow her tears. "Is he coming back?"

"Oh, Thea," Ollie whispers, kissing her hair. "Of course he's coming back."

"I didn't want him to know," Thea mumbles. "I didn't want to hurt him."

I swear, the Queen gene carries a serious martyr complex," Felicity fumes. "You two seriously need to get better at asking for help or we're going to have to put that therapist on retainer."

Thea lets out a teary little laugh and Ollie shakes his head.

"Come here," he says, reaching out for Felicity. She slips under his arm, snuggling up next to Thea.

"I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating," Felicity says. "We're a family. Families don't keep secrets."

"You're so not a Queen," Thea laughs. "All we're good for is keeping secrets."

"Hey." Felicity pokes them both in the chest. "In three days I will be, and I'm making it a family rule. No more secrets." She raises an eyebrow at Thea. "No matter what."

Thea looks up at Ollie, who is staring at Felicity with an odd look on his face, like he doesn't quite know what to say to that.

"Okay," Thea promises. "No more secrets."

That night she falls asleep sandwiched between Ollie and Felicity in their bed, safe between her big brother and sister.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I don't own Arrow or its characters. Please R &amp; R :)**

Thea wakes up alone. At first she thinks Felicity and Oliver must be downstairs, but then she sees the bathroom door is cracked, light spilling out.

She tiptoes to the door, knowing she's snooping but not really caring. She's the little sister; it's her job to snoop.

She stiffens when she hears someone crying. At first she thinks it's Felicity, but then she hears her making soft shushing noises, and Thea realizes with a squirmy feeling in her ribs that it's Ollie.

"I want to kill them," she hears him sob angrily.

"_Oliver_," Felicity says.

"I want to kill them! They hurt Thea."

"I know," Felicity says softly, and then it's quiet except for the sound of Ollie crying.

Thea backs away from the bathroom door and goes downstairs.

Roy's sitting at the kitchen table, his hands wrapped loosely around a cardboard cup of coffee. He looks awful, pale with red eyes.

"You came back," she says.

He raises an eyebrow. "You thought I wouldn't?"

She shrugs, staring down at her bare feet.

"Thea," he says, and pushes away from the table, coming to stand next to her.

She stiffens, ready for him to tell her he's done, that he can't handle this.

"I'm sorry," Roy says softly, and she looks up in surprise.

"Why are you sorry?"

He shakes his head. "I knew something was wrong. You kept saying you were fine, but I just had a feeling...and then when you told me I acted like an asshole."

"No you didn't."

Roy's mouth twists. "The thing is...I've never really loved anyone besides you. Other than my mom I guess, but that's different. And when I found out that they had hurt you like that..."

"Roy," she whispers.

"It _hurt_," he says, his voice cracking. "I didn't know it would hurt like that."

"I think that's called empathy," she says wryly.

"Yeah, well, I suck at feelings. Obviously."

Thea gives him a small smile. "Welcome to the club, Harper."

Roy's hands come around her waist. "I'm sorry I didn't handle it better. But I'm here now."

She kisses him.

"Thea," he says softly, brushing his lips against her cheek.

"I love you," she says, hating how desperate she sounds.

Roy kisses her eyelashes, making them flutter. "I love you, too."

Thea rests her chin on his shoulder, sighing when his hand comes up to play with her hair.

"So what now?" she asks him.

He tugs gently on her hair. "Now I buy you breakfast."

xxx

She and Roy walk three blocks to a little diner. He sits next to her in the booth instead of across from her.

He doesn't let go of her hand.

They order blueberry pancakes with lots of whipped cream and make a mess of it. He kisses whipped cream off her nose. She licks syrup off his lips.

The waitress gives them a dirty look and Thea gives her one right back.

"Should we talk about last night?" Roy asks.

"Do we have to?" she says weakly.

"You kind of freaked out when we...you know." Roy gestures with his hands.

Thea shivers. "Yeah, I don't know really know what happened. It was like I was with you and then..." she trails off, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Then what?" Roy pushes.

"And then I wasn't. And I didn't have any control over it."

Roy frowns, leans forward to brush a curl away from her face. "What can I do?"

She shrugs. "I don't know if there's anything you can do."

He sets his jaw. "That's an unacceptable answer."

"Roy-"

"I'm not going to let some douche bags ruin sex for you," he says hotly. "You love sex. There has to be something I can do."

"Okay," she says, raising an eyebrow. "Go for it."

"I'm going to," he says seriously.

When she starts to laugh he dips his pinkie in the whipped cream and smears it all over her mouth.

xxx

When Thea and Roy get back to the loft they both freeze in the doorway, because Oliver and Felicity have moved downstairs and they're _screaming_ at each other.

"I cannot believe you!" Felicity is yelling. "We've talked about this."

"This is different! This is Thea," Oliver retorts.

"I understand that."

"She's my _sister_."

"What are you going to do, break into their jail cells, where the police put them when you _worked with Lance _to get Thea back, and put arrows in their chests?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Oliver!"

"They deserve to die for what they did," he growls.

"Oliver Jonas Queen, if you walk out that door I'm calling off the wedding!"

Thea's jaw drops.

"You _wouldn't_."

"Don't tell me what I wouldn't do!"

"We're getting married in two days!"

"Then you better get your head out of your ass, because you getting arrested for being a murdering vigilante does not fit in with my timeline of the next thirty-six hours!" Felicity says hysterically.

"Felicity, what do you want me to do?"

"God, don't you get it? I want you to not do anything dangerous for like, _one week_. And can you handle that? No!"

"You signed up for this! You knew who you were marrying."

"And you promised me you wouldn't do anything risky before the wedding."

"Felicity, it's for Thea."

"Stop using Thea as an excuse! You're doing this for yourself."

"_Excuse me_?"

"You want to kill those men because you feel guilty, because you put her in the field."

"_Whoa_," Roy whispers.

"Of course I feel guilty."

"Oliver, you can't kill someone just because you think it will make you feel better."

"Felicity...I don't know what else to do."

There's a long, worrying pause.

"I can't tell you what to do. You have to figure that out for yourself."

Her brother doesn't say anything and Thea can imagine him standing there, hanging his head.

Felicity sighs. "I have to take a shower and then I have to pick up my fucking dress."

Another long silence from her brother.

"Fine," Felicity huffs, and Thea hears the stomp stomp of her heels up the stairs.

Roy and Thea stand there awkwardly for a few minutes but it sounds like the fight is over.

"Dude, what do we do?" Roy hisses.

"I don't know!"

"Should we like...come back later?"

"I can't believe they're fighting right now. They're about to get married."

"They'll be fine, fighting's like foreplay for them."

"_Gross_."

"I know you're out there!" Oliver shouts.

Roy and Thea both wince.

"What do we do?" Roy mouths.

Thea grips his hand and they walk into the loft. Oliver's sitting on one of the couches in the living room, head in his hands.

"Go on up," Thea tells Roy. "I'll be there in a minute."

Roy squeezes her hand and goes up the stairs. Thea plops down next to Oliver on the couch.

"Ollie," she says finally, when he doesn't say anything, "what are you doing?"

"Nothing," he says sullenly.

Thea stretches her feet out on the coffee table. "It sounds like you're about to screw up the best thing that ever happened to you."

"Yeah, I'm good at that."

"Ollie." Thea grips his arm. "I know you're just trying to protect me, but you don't have to do this."

Ollie rubs his eyes. "Thea, they hurt you."

"You can't kill everyone that hurts me, Ollie. I'm going to get hurt sometimes. That's just life."

"I still think of you like a kid, I guess. Always trying to protect you."

"Ollie...it can't be like this. Not with us. This can't be us, okay?"

He blinks rapidly. "Thea-"

"There has to be another way, Ollie," she pleads. "I can't do this. I can't be afraid to tell you things because you might go on a rampage."

"So what do I do, then? Nothing?"

She leans her head on his shoulder. "You could stay here. You could get married. I would really like to watch you and Felicity get married, Ollie. It'd be nice to have something good for once, you know?"

He sighs. "When did you get so smart, anyway?"

Thea smiles sadly. "I grew up."

"Nope." Ollie ruffles her hair. "You're still my baby sister."

"And you're still my dumb big brother."

"Your dumb big brother loves you more than anything."

"I know." Thea kisses his cheek. "Stop being an idiot. Stay here. Get married. Have lots of freaky genius superhero babies."

He rolls his eyes. "Someone wants to be an aunt."

She tweaks his cheek. "Make my dreams come true, big bro."

Ollie snorts. "Let's see how this weekend goes first."

When she goes back up to her room she finds Roy spread eagle on her bed, fast asleep.

xxx

Thea is sitting on the edge of her bed while Roy sleeps, sketchbook balanced against her knees, when Felicity barges in. She's freshly showered and ponytailed, wearing a peach and cream patterned sundress and a pale blue leather bag hanging from her shoulder.

"Hey, Thea," Felicity says loudly, and then winces when she sees Roy passed out on the bed.

"Sorry," Felicity mouths, and Thea jumps up, putting her sketchbook down.

"What's up?" she whispers.

"I need you to run some errands with me."

"Okay," Thea says easily, because Felicity is using her no-nonsense mom voice and she looks stressed out as all hell.

They meet with the wedding planner at the hotel. Thea curls up on a couch with headphones on and sketches while Felicity spends an hour approving napkins, table settings, chair designs.

Thea jumps when Felicity taps her shoulder.

"Are we done?" Thea asks hopefully.

Felicity shakes her head. "Not even close."

"I'm hungry," Thea pouts. "This is boring."

"Buck up kid," Felicity says, pulling Thea off the couch. "This is crunch time."

They pick up their dresses from the tailors. Felicity's dress is a froth of snowy white silk carefully wrapped in plastic. At Felicity's insistence Thea tries her dress on in the case it needs last minute tailoring, which it doesn't, but the dress is so pretty she doesn't mind.

It's ice blue chiffon, vaguely Grecian in design, the fabric flowing in a simple column and tying around one shoulder.

"Oh Thea," Felicity says softly. "You look amazing."

Thea twirls in the dress. "Yeah?"

"Definitely."

Thea smiles. "Wait 'til Ollie sees you in your dress. He's going to die."

"Assuming he makes it to the wedding at all," Felicity deadpans.

"Hey." Thea touches Felicity's arm. "I know my brother can be a total idiot but he'd never miss your wedding."

"He better not," Felicity says darkly. "He spent a freaking fortune."

xxx

Thea frowns when Felicity turns the car deeper into downtown Starling City instead of turning west towards the loft.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"One last stop," Felicity says, and pulls up in front of a large professional building.

"I didn't know I had an appointment," Thea says.

"I called this morning and scheduled an emergency session," Felicity explains. "I hope that's okay."

"I guess," Thea shrugs. "I don't really have a choice, anyway, do I?"

"You have a choice," Felicity says. "But I would highly recommend taking this one."

"Ollie always takes me," Thea comments.

"Oliver's with Dig," Felicity says apologetically. "He needed some guy time. He asked me to take you."

"You have to get me ice cream after," Thea says, like a kindergartener about to get a shot. "That's the rule."

Felicity nods seriously. "Ice cream. Got it."

Thea opens her door but stops when Felicity grabs her wrist.

"Hey," Felicity says. "I love you kiddo."

Thea gives her a hug, laying her cheek on Felicity's shoulder. "I love you too."

"Thea," Felicity says softly. "I want you to go in there and tell the truth. You tell her what happened, and you tell her how you feel. Okay?"

Thea nods, suddenly feeling nervous. "Do you ever feel like...some things are just better left alone? Like if you don't talk about them maybe you can pretend they didn't happen."

Felicity sighs. "You can pretend. But it would all be a lie. It would eat you up inside. I think you know that."

Thea's chest tightened. "Why is talking about it so scary?"

Felicity cups her cheek. " You can do it, girl. Be brave. " 


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I can't believe we're on the last chapter already! Thank you for all the amazing comments. You guys are the best. Seriously. Please enjoy and don't forget to R&amp;R!**

Whatever Dig said to Oliver while Thea was out with Felicity seems to have worked, because when they come home from therapy there is sushi from Felicity's favorite Japanese place on the table, two dozen roses in a vase, and a very expensive bottle of red breathing on the counter.

"See?" Thea says, hip checking Felicity. "Told you he wouldn't miss the wedding."

"The wedding's not for two more days."

"And I'm going to be here the whole time," Ollie says, coming down the stairs.

"Hey," Felicity says faintly, and Thea rolls her eyes. _Hey, really_?

"Hey," Oliver says back.

"Well," Felicity says nervously. "You sure go all out when you're apologizing."

"Anything for you," he says contritely.

"Okay," Thea says, taking note of the way they're looking at each other. "I'm just gonna...yeah."

She escapes to her room before she can witness her brother and his fiancé eye-fucking each other.

She's thrilled the wedding is on but there are some things she doesn't need to see.

xxx

Thea and Roy order a pizza to avoid the love fest in the dining room. When they venture downstairs to answer the door Oliver and Felicity are practically doing it on the dining room table.

"My eyes!" Thea cries, turning dramatically to Roy.

"Gross, guys," he comments, tipping the pizza boy while giving him a serious _don't check out my girlfriend_ stare. "We eat there."

"Not my problem," Oliver says, dipping his head to kiss Felicity's neck.

"Don't fuck on the table, it cost like two grand!" Thea shouts, running up the stairs after Roy.

"Promise me something," Roy asks, putting the box on her bed and spreading out paper towels.

"Anything."

"Promise me we'll never be as disgusting as they are."

Thea nods wholeheartedly. "_Never_."

After the pizza they put on a movie and sprawl out on the bed, her head in his lap. Roy cups her neck, his thumb running back and forth over the muscle.

"So how did it go today?" Roy asks. "With the therapist."

"Okay."

Roy combs his fingers through her hair. "Good okay or bad okay?"

Thea flips over on her back. "Like...when I talked about it I was crying and it sucked and I kind of wanted to die, but when it was over I felt a lot better."

Roy makes a face. "That sounds awful."

Thea laughs. "Yeah, therapy kind of blows."

"But it's helping, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Good." Roy leans down and kisses her. "I'm so proud of you."

She smiles, pursing her lips for another kiss. "How proud?"

"Very." He kisses her deeply and she arches up, back bowing on the bed.

"Hey," he says, bending down to nibble her earlobe. "While you were gone I had an idea."

"Really," she says, "what kind of idea?"

He wiggles his eyebrows. "An _idea_."

"Oh," she says, going very still. "What it is?"

Roy pulls her up. "You trust me?"

She nods faithfully. "Always."

Roy leans back against the headboard and pulls her in between his legs so her back is against his chest, and turns the volume of the movie up. Her brother's freaky accurate dog hearing is the _worst_.

"I was thinking," Roy says. "About when it happened, how out of control it must have made you feel. And then when we...when we tried to...I scared the hell out of you."

"No " she argues, turning in his arms. "It wasn't you."

"It's okay, Thea," he reassures her. "I understand."

She ducks her head, snuggling against his chest. "I don't want you to think I'm afraid of you."

"I don't. I think you're afraid of feeling that way again."

She flushes, embarrassed at how easy she is to read.

"Thea," he nudges gently.

"You might have a point," she concedes. "So what's your idea?"

He links their fingers together, so her hand is splayed over his, and brings them down to her belly.

"My idea is to give you back control."

He spreads his fingers under hers so the heat from his hand warms her skin from hipbone to hipbone.

"What do you mean?" she sighs, settling against him.

"Look," Roy says, so she does.

His large hand, her smaller one on top, inching lower towards the hem of her boy shorts. "You're in charge. You show me what you want, how you want it. You can see me do it. You're in control, Thea."

"Oh," she says dumbly, and slides their hands a little lower.

For a while they stay like that, her right hand locked over his and Roy's left hand lightly on her thigh, brushing the inside with his fingertips, stoking a slow burning fire inside her.

"More," she whispers.

"You show me," he says, bending down to kiss her neck. "Show me what you want."

She pushes his hand down between her legs and curls their fingers. Roy gets the idea, cups her so the palm of his hand is planted over her clit and starts to rub gently over the thin material of her shorts.

Thea moans, arching back against him at the pressure. She pushes her hips up and presses her hand down on his, and moans again. Her head falls back against his shoulder as she lets go, lets him bring her back to her body, reminding her that it can give pleasure as well as pain.

She pulls his hand up and pushes her shorts down before dropping his hand back down between her legs.

"You sure?" he murmurs, even as his fingers spread her open to him.

"Yeah," she says breathlessly. She looks down, watches thick callused fingers stroke, and clutches his arm with her free hand.

"Thea..." he warns.

"Please," she gasps, little tendrils of pleasure sparking under his fingertips. "I want you to."

She pushes his fingers down towards her entrance, rolling her hips to show him what she wants.

"Fuck, you're wet," he mutters under his breath, and slips two fingers inside her.

She feels it then, that tightening in her chest, fear flooding her nervous system.

"Roy," she whimpers, her fingers tightening on his arm.

His fingers still immediately.

"We can stop," he reminds her. "Do you want to stop?"

She doesn't want to stop. She wants to come. She wants to be reminded of how good she can feel, how powerful her body is in all the best ways.

"Thea?"

"Don't stop," she says. "Just go slow."

He moves carefully, much gentler than usual but it feels good, and she sighs.

"Okay?"

"Yeah." She rolls her hips, sneaks fingers under his hand to play with her clit. "Talk to me."

"Dirty talk?" He chuckles in her ear.

"Yeah. I don't care. Anything. It's just...hearing your voice..." she breaks off, gasping, as he touches a spot that makes her shiver.

"Makes you feel safe."

"Yeah," she groans.

"Well," Roy says. "You're fucking soaked. I'll take that as a sign this is going well, yeah?"

Thea moans.

"I love you," Roy murmurs. "Love how wet you get for me."

"Yeah," she moans again, feeling the beginning of the build, little contractions starting in her muscles. "Keep talking."

"So perfect," Roy says heatedly. "All of you."

She can feel him getting hard against the small of her back and she pushes against him, just to hear him groan.

"Love the sounds you make when you're about to come," he grits out, his hand starting to speed up.

"Roy," she gasps.

"Yeah," he says. "Say my name."

"Roy." It comes out high and needy. "Roy, please."

"Show me want you want," he reminds her. "This is all you. I'm just your sex toy tonight."

"Jesus Christ," Thea cries, her hips pumping, fingers rolling frantically over her clit.

"You've got this Thea," he says. "You're doing so good, baby."

"Oh_, god_." She shudders, hovering on the edge of a terrible precipice.

"Almost there," he says soothingly. "Stay with me Thea."

She sobs. She's so close, she can feel it. _Almost there, almost there_. She grabs his left hand, puts it over her clit.

"Please," she gasps. "I need you."

He rolls his thumb over it, twice, and that's all it takes. She cries out, bucking against his hand as wave after wave of pleasure crashes down on her, sweeping her away.

Roy talks her down, telling her much he loves her, how proud he is of her, how brave she is. She turns around in his arms, pushes his shorts down to reveal him, long and hard and ready for her.

"Yeah?" he asks, face splitting into a grin.

She beams. "Definitely."

She rolls a condom on him as he shucks his shirt, and she hovers, kneeling over him.

"Thea." He catches her face in his hands. "We don't have to."

"I want to."

"Okay," he says. "Don't let me stop you, then."

She slides down on him.

"_Oh_," she sighs.

She rolls her hips, making him grind his teeth and clutch at her.

"Love you," he mumbles, pulling her close.

"You too," she gasps.

She's so full, so complete, and she starts to laugh.

"What...is so funny?" he grits out.

"I'm happy," she says, and then laughs again, because it's true.

xxx

The rehearsal dinner is held at Felicity's favorite French bistro, in a private room. Dinner is small, just family (well, not much actual family, but the people in their life, the people they've made a family.)

Dig and Lyla, of course. Laurel comes with her new boyfriend, an attorney (shocker). A few scattered Queen relatives, Felicity's mother and her boyfriend. Felicity's friends from the old Q.C. IT department and MIT.

Roy wears a new suit that Oliver bought for him, dutifully follows Thea around as she says hello to everyone, graciously accepts compliments about her brother, his lovely bride-to-be.

After everyone has been seated, after she's had a glass of champagne, Roy hands her the speech she wrote that morning.

"Hi, everyone," Thea announces, tapping the crystal flute with a butter knife. "I'm Thea, the maid of honor."

She glances at Felicity, who gives her an encouraging smile, and looks back down at her speech.

"Now, some of you, those who've known my brother growing up, probably thought we'd never be sitting here today."

Everyone laughs, even Laurel, and Thea smiles bashfully.

"I know this is the part where I make fun of Oliver, tell you all these embarrassing stories about him, and I could do that. But I'm not, because that's not what tonight is about."

Thea clears her throat. "Tonight is about celebrating something special. And my brother...he's _so_ special. He's strong and he's compassionate. And for a long time he was alone.

"And then, this amazing girl came into our lives, and for once, he didn't mess it up. Well, not too much," she says, and everyone laughs again.

"So I'd like to make a toast, to my brother, for giving me what I've always wanted. A sister. Felicity, you are the best thing that could have happened, not just to him, but to all of us. You changed our lives for the better. You make..."

Thea has to stop, carefully wipe her ears with a tissue. "You make us a family."

She holds up her glass, and everyone follows suit. "To Oliver and Felicity!"

When she looks around the room everyone else is crying, too.

xxx

The wedding is perfect, from beginning to end.

Thea hovers just outside the doors to the ballroom and watches Oliver walk down the aisle with Donna Smoak on his arm. At the end of the aisle he tries to give her a kiss on the cheek but she turns to give him a full embrace and his lips land just on the corner of her mouth.

Thea giggles into her hand, careful not to smudge her lipstick.

Roy and Laurel go next. He looks gorgeous in his tux, Laurel like a supermodel in her royal blue gown.

"Thea," the wedding planner nudges her. "You and Sara now."

Thea bends down to clasp the little girl's hand. She wears a floaty white dress with an ice blue sash that matches Thea's gown, a floral crown nestled in her dark hair.

"We go?" Sara asks inquisitively, pointing toward the doors.

"You bet, kiddo." She makes sure Sara has her flower basket clutched in her chubby hand before stepping through the doors.

The crowd _oos_ and _ahhs_ at them, slowly making their way down the aisle. Every few steps Thea stops so Sara can pull a rose petal out of the basket and carefully place it on the floor.

When they get to the end of the aisle Sara proudly holds up her empty basket and shouts at Lyla, "Look Mommy! I do it!"

Everyone cracks up and Lyla scoots out of her pew to pick Sara up, whispering, "Good job, sweetie," and shoots Thea a grateful look.

When Felicity enters the room on Dig's arm Thea swears, everyone gasps. She looks _incredible._ Her white silk dress gleams and the mermaid cut shows off her figure. Only if you look closely can you see the way her nails dig nervously into her bouquet.

When Thea sneaks a glance at Ollie he looks blindsided, staring at Felicity like she's a literal angle.

When they get to the alter Dig kisses Felicity's cheek and she throws her arms around him. Thea steps down to take Felicity's bouquet and they all find their places on the alter, Dig behind Oliver and Thea behind Felicity.

When Oliver and Felicity finally say _I do_ Felicity is a mess and Ollie has the _dumbest_ smile on his face.

It's hands down the best moment of Thea's life.

xxx

By the time Roy and Thea make it back to the loft it's almost three in the morning. They're exhausted from dancing and buzzing with champagne.

"That was one hell of a wedding," Roy says, pulling off his tie and shrugging off his jacket.

"Not our style though," Thea says, kicking off her heels. "Too fussy."

Roy laughs. "I haven't even proposed and you're planning our wedding."

"I'm thinking the beach," Thea says, taking off her earrings. "A destination wedding."

Roy comes up behind her, wraps his arms around his waist. "I have no say in this, do I?"

"Nope," she says happily, reaching behind her to unzip her dress.

"Want me to?" he asks.

"I can do it." She catches the clasp above the zipper in her fingertips and twists, but it slips out of her grasp. "Damn."

"Thea," Roy says gently, hands low on her back. "Let me help you."

She does, easily. Because she understands now, that asking for help is okay, that it doesn't mean she's weak.

It means she's strong enough to not be afraid to ask.

It means she's brave. 

The End.


End file.
